From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

Rebecca seemed to be considering the validity of this explanation.

"Are you sure these aren't some kind of..." She didn't finish her sentence.

"The experiment requires it," Edmund interrupted with just the right amount of firmness, "and it's urgent; it would be best if it could arrive tomorrow."

A faint sigh came from the other end of the phone, followed by Rebecca's voice.

"I'm trying to find out about poultry dealers for you. Pigeons are easy to get, but crows are a bit more complicated. Your list isn't hard to obtain, but it might be a bit..."

"The fee will be deducted from the previous deposit."

"We'll talk about that later," Rebecca said, her tone becoming crisp and decisive again.

"However, I still have one condition: your 'radiator experiments' must not damage my adoptive father's mansion, and you are responsible for the cleanup yourself."

"I guarantee it with my reputation."

"Your reputation has already vouched for quite a lot in the last twenty-four hours," Rebecca said with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's alright, I'll trust you for now. I'll send over your 'experimental materials' this afternoon; the birds will have to wait a while longer."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Yang. You are truly the most perfect partner I've ever had," Edmund said sincerely.

"Just call me Rebecca, that's all for now."

After hanging up the phone, Edmund folded the list and put it back in his pocket, then turned around and heard footsteps.

Thomas appeared quickly at the study door: "Sir, I just returned from the woods. Is everything alright at the manor?"

"You've worked hard, but everything is going well."

Edmund emerged from the study and leaned naturally against the wall in the hallway. "Speaking of which, I was browsing through some books in the study and found quite a few works on geology and anthropology. I didn't expect Mr. Yang to have such a specialized interest in these areas."

Thomas remained unfazed: "Yes, sir. The gentleman has a profound knowledge of anthropology, and therefore inevitably possesses a considerable private collection."

Edmund grunted, “Rebecca mentioned that Mr. Yann is a traveling salesman of fine wines, but the range of books in this study goes far beyond wine.”

This suggestion made Thomas think for a longer time: "Mr. Young was not in the wine business when he was young; he was a geologist at that time."

"A geologist?" Edmund raised an eyebrow. "That's an unexpected career path."

Thomas explained, "Mr. Young was indeed a very accomplished geologist in his youth, and he participated in several scientific expeditions along the coast of the Rending Heart Sea in the North in his early years. But that seems to have been a long time ago."

Edmund continued gently, "A scientific expedition? That sounds like quite a lot of hard work. Is Mr. Yang the kind of naturalist who does that?"

"No, the master specializes in deep-sea geological structures and mineral vein distribution," Thomas replied. "I remember the master mentioning that he tried to deduce the evolution of the seabed topography by analyzing the rock strata along the Rending Heart Sea coast."

"So, what happened next?" Edmund asked. "This kind of career change is indeed rare."

The butler's professional requirement to keep secrets and the relaxed atmosphere Edmund created seemed to be engaged in a silent struggle, which made Thomas remain silent for a moment.

Ultimately, the old butler seemed to conclude that the guest was unlikely to leak the contents of their conversation: "Perhaps it was because of an undisclosed private scientific expedition—when Mr. Yang and several other scholars formed a small expedition team to go to an unnamed island in the far north of the Heartbreak Sea."

His gaze shifted to the bright sunlight streaming through the window: "After that expedition, Mr. Yang was a completely different person. He became silent after returning, and for several months he refused to speak to anyone. After that, he resigned from his position at the Geological Institute and began to get involved in the wine industry."

Edmund felt the story sounded somewhat familiar, and the old butler added with a smile, "Of course, Miss Yang was adopted by the master around that time, and the basement was also renovated around that time. I remember it very clearly."

"So the anthropology sections of these books were also accumulated by Mr. Yang before he adopted Miss Yang?" Edmund looked around at the books.

Thomas shook his head: "Those books were purchased by the master after he renovated the basement. I'm not entirely sure why the master studied anthropology."

That was enough, Edmund confirmed his deduction in his heart.

Rebecca's adoptive father was likely a superhuman in his youth, and that expedition to the Heart Rift Sea was probably the key moment when he came into contact with some kind of superhuman being.

The key lies in the "Horn of Zagreus" and the parchment notebook found in the secret compartment of the study.

If the adoptive father was indeed a former actor in "The Great Play of Dionysus," then this character and the notebook are likely the legacy he left behind in his attempt to withdraw from "The Play."

"It sounds like Mr. Yang has had quite a complicated life," Edmund said in a relaxed tone. "No wonder this mansion has so many interesting things in its collection."

Thomas was clearly relieved by the remark that the casual conversation was about to end: "Of course, sir. The gentleman is indeed very knowledgeable, which has contributed to the smooth progress of his subsequent wine business."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, then Thomas politely said goodbye to prepare lunch, while Edmund went to catch up on his sleep, somewhat preoccupied.

Having been awake for almost a whole day, he desperately needed sleep.

-----------------

As dusk fell, Edmund heard the sound of a car engine coming from the mansion's porch, and after catching up on sleep for half a day, he came down from the third floor to greet them.

Rebecca got out of the driver's seat and, together with the housekeeper, carried the two cardboard boxes into the house.

"Delivery to your door." Rebecca placed the cardboard box in the foyer and glanced up at Edmund.

Edmund smiled sheepishly: "I should be the one carrying this."

Rebecca stood in the foyer, dusting off her hands. "Never mind that, I'm more concerned about the materials... Mr. Black, I must say your idea sounds more like some kind of folk magic than computer cooling research."

Actually, you guessed correctly.

Edmund shrugged. "Hopefully my work over the next week will dispel your doubts. By the way, I just finished the prototype framework for the server."

"Oh?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "It's already met the minimum operational requirements?"

Led by Edmund, the two went up to the third floor, where Edmund quickly demonstrated his work from the afternoon.

Rebecca looked at the design and listened to Edmund demonstrate several pieces of pseudocode; she seemed somewhat surprised.

"This progress is indeed beyond expectations. I remember you just mentioned the MUD prototype yesterday."

Edmund smiled and said, "While we're waiting for the materials to arrive, it won't be a waste of time to build the infrastructure."

With work settled, the two finished dinner, and Rebecca glanced at her watch.

"I have to go back to the city tomorrow to handle some backlogged business, and I might be gone for two or three days. The poultry issue has been arranged, but the server equipment won't be delivered for a few more days."

After Edmund nodded, she added, "I've left a key to the mansion with Thomas; you can pick it up whenever you need to go out. However... there are some places you can avoid if you find them inconvenient."

Rebecca's tone was ambiguous, but Edmund understood her implication.

There are corners in the mansion that Rebecca doesn't want him to explore, perhaps some private traces left by her adoptive father.

"Of course, I will respect the manor's arrangements," Edmund replied.

Rebecca nodded slightly, then walked towards the van. Before getting in, she turned back to look at Edmund one last time.

"See you later, I look forward to seeing the server debugging progress."